25 Weird, Surprising, and Over-the-Top Foods on a Stick

STICK TO YOUR RIBS

From the exotic outdoor markets of the Far East to the deep-fried meccas of America's state fairs, a wooden stick can be the vehicle for some of the most interesting food in the world. March 28 is Something on a Stick Day, and we're celebrating everything from the ingenious to the outrageous to the downright terrifying -- some of which comes pretty cheap and some of which could even be made at home.

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BACON-WRAPPED CARAMEL APPLE

If traditional candy apples aren't exciting enough, try dipping them in melted caramel and covering them with bacon bits -- a not-too-healthy but flavorful fan favorite at the Oklahoma State Fair.

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SAUTÉED MEALWORMS ON A CANDY APPLE

This is a common "dare on a stick" at the Arizona State Fair. Mealworms actually make candy apples more nutritious -- they are, after all, high in protein.

DEEP-FRIED BACON ON A STICK

Described as "sweet, salty, meaty, and cakey" by Flavor 574, which covers food culture in northern Indiana and southern Michigan, this $5 snack combines three important elements of state fair food: bacon, deep-frying, and sticks. Unlike a corn dog, which is fried in cornmeal, the bacon is fried in thick, sweet funnel-cake batter.

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DEEP-FRIED SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS ON A STICK

Spaghetti and meatballs can be messy to eat -- and it's not deep-fried. A Bon Appétit recipe corrects all this in a filling and cheap dish that can be made at home.

TORNADO POTATO

The master of spiral-cut potatoes on a stick was Los Angeles' Tornado Potato food truck, but spud lovers everywhere will be better off making their own than waiting for this defunct business to get on the road again. Luckily, BuzzFeed has a recipe and video instructions.

DEEP-FRIED CANDY BARS

A staple at state fairs across the country, the deep-fried candy bar mixes doughy and crispy with sweet and gooey on a stick. The batter is simply eggs, water, baking powder, flour, salt, oil for frying, and brown sugar, and virtually any candy bar goes with it.

ALLIGATOR ON A STICK

At Riverfest in Wichita, Kansas, revelers line up to eat a feared predator deep-fried on a stick. For those interested in trying it at home, a pound of alligator nuggets from Louisiana Crawfish costs about $20.

Photo credit: Courtesy of edibleinsects.com

SCORPION ON A STICK

Like mealworms, scorpions are surprisingly lean and healthy -- but folks eat them deep-fried and dipped in chocolate at the Arizona State Fair. You can get a scorpion pre-dipped in chocolate shipped to your home for $5, though you'll have to skewer it yourself. Amazon ships them too.

FAT ELVIS ON A STICK

A Wisconsin State Fair treat evokes The King's favored peanut butter and banana sandwiches -- and his notorious weight gain. A Reese's peanut butter cup on a stick is dipped in banana batter, deep-fried, covered with chocolate sauce, and sprinkled with bacon.

Photo credit: Courtesy of foodbeast.com

DEEP-FRIED STARBUCKS COFFEE ON A STICK

Following in the footsteps of deep-fried Coke (yes, that's a thing) comes deep-fried coffee -- and not just any old coffee. A booth at the San Diego County Fair served up a treat made from ground Starbucks coffee, Foodbeast reported. Those tempted to try this at home might start with cheaper coffee.

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DEEP-FRIED MILK AND COOKIES ON A STICK

For this dessert from the State Fair of Texas, milk and cookies are slow cooked into a custard, chilled, sliced, dipped in egg wash, covered with breadcrumbs, and, of course, deep-fried on a stick.

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EGGO AND FRUIT KABOBS

What's for breakfast? Toaster waffles with fruit? Make it portable and kid-friendly by partnering cut-up waffles with chunks of banana, strawberry, or another favorite fruit on a skewer.

DEEP-FRIED BUTTER BALLS

Deep-fried butter balls have been a favorite heart attack on a stick at the State Fair of Texas since they won "Most Creative" at the 2009 Big Tex Choice Awards. To make, simply scoop out a globe of butter the size of a golf ball, roll it in sweet dough, and throw it in the fryer.

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DEEP-FRIED STUFFING ON A STICK

Who else but Paula Deen could come up with a way to eat stuffing on a stick? Like any stuffing, it can be made with a number of different ingredients, but Deen's recipe leans on sausage and spice. Even better, it's deep-fried.

TERIYAKI OSTRICH ON A STICK

The ostrich is one of the fastest animals on Earth, but catch one and it cooks up really nice -- especially with teriyaki, according to a Twin Cities food blog. A contributor found the massive, flightless bird in bite-size chunks on a skewer, with a side of dipping sauce, at the 2013 Minnesota State Fair.

GRILLED SQUID ON A STICK

When calamari just isn't exotic enough, opt for ikayaki, Japanese grilled squid on a stick -- a full squid, tentacles only, or cut into rings. Sometimes called "squid pancakes," this delicacy usually runs up to 500 yen, or less than $5.

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PIG SNOUTS AND TAILS ON A STICK

In China, the variety of foods that can be eaten on a stick apparently knows no bounds. Roasting and skewering pig snouts and tails does nothing to distort the unmistakeable Miss Piggy shape of the nose and curl of the tail.

LOBSTER CORN DOG

Chicago may not miss celebrity chef Graham Elliot's Grahamwich eatery, which closed in 2013, but his stand at the Lollapalooza music festival did give the world the lobster dog ($10). Serious Eats gushed over the lobster fried in crispy, delicate batter and glazed with sauce and spices.

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DEEP-FRIED PRETZEL-CRUSTED BROWNIES ON A STICK

At the Wisconsin State Fair, desserts include a brownie/cake concoction covered in pretzels and chocolate. It is, of course, deep-fried, and comes with caramel dipping sauce.

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PIG INTESTINES ON A STICK

Fried pig intestines are big in Hong Kong; the Philippines, where the dish is called isaw; and Myanmar, where it can be found alongside pig lungs and pig tongues, also served on sticks -- part of the no-waste, head-to-tail philosophy of butchering common in much of the world.

Photo credit: State Fair of Texas/facebook.com

DEEP-FRIED BACON BURGER SLIDER ON A STICK

This creation was a finalist in the 2016 Big Tex Choice Awards at the State Fair of Texas. It's made from a miniature beef patty stuffed with bacon, cheddar, and a beef hot dog, then skewered with a pickle, deep-fried in tempura batter, and served over shoestring fries.

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SPAMSICLES

A deep-fried slice of Spam on a stick has been featured at more than one fair over the years. A recipe posted on BigOven takes a different approach, using gelatin, water, popsicle molds, and a blender or food processor to create a "Spam slurry" that freezes into something resembling a Fudgsicle. Then again, maybe this isn't something you'd want to try at home.

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